Culture Clash Knows The End Is Near. It Wants To Go Out With A Bang

Richard Montoya of Culture Clash doesn’t mince words erstwhile it comes to politics, existent events aliases nan authorities of mainstream Hollywood. But he does sugarcoat his technological limitations arsenic a 67-year-old comic successful nan dreaded property of video calls pinch a punchy Chicano twist.

“I’m a low-tech Aztec,” he writes via email erstwhile requesting a Zoom nexus to our Monday interview.

Culture Clash — which includes members Montoya, Ric Salinas and Herbert Sigüenza — arrived connected nan segment arsenic a guerrilla sketch theatre group from nan San Francisco Mission District successful 1984. By that time, nan Chicano activity had reached its peak, acknowledgment to nan United Farm Workers labour movement, arsenic good arsenic student activistic organizations for illustration Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán (MEChA), which advocated for Chicano unity, governmental empowerment and acquisition access.

Luis Valdez, laminitis of El Teatro Campesino — who began putting connected societal justice-oriented plays for nan striking Delano farmworkers successful 1965 — backed nan slapstick satire troupe, considering nan trio “the cutting separator of fresh, caller Latino comic genius.”

Culture Clash stood retired successful a clip erstwhile Chicanos became much vocal and visible — and its members challenged an intermezo manufacture that has historically lacked Latino representation. Between 1993 and 1996, Culture Clash hosted its ain self-titled TV show connected nan syndicated Fox network. The show, which was filmed astatine nan Mayan Theater successful downtown Los Angeles, is wide considered nan first Latino sketch drama to aerial connected American television.

Throughout nan past 4 decades, Culture Clash has parodied astir each salient Latino fig successful history, including Che Guevara, Frida Kahlo, Ritchie Valens, Rita Moreno, Edward James Olmos and others. Its members person mocked hard-shell cholos and gangsters, often by placing them successful funny scenarios. For instance, return this clip, successful which nan trio return connected cholo characters and reimagine what it would beryllium for illustration to surf connected nan Southern California shore.

But they’ve besides taken connected much superior topics successful their classical “Chavez Ravine” play, which looks into 1 of nan darkest chapters successful L.A. history: nan forceful removal and displacement of families, mostly Mexican, successful nan 1950s nether eminent domain. Recently Montoya attended a unrecorded reference adapted by Somos El Teatro, led by Xolo Maridueña, Mariana da Silva and Angel Villalobos astatine Elysian Park.

“It gives america truthful overmuch life that group are uncovering nan issues of swindlers, whether it’s gentrification, nan taking complete of settlements,” says Montoya. “The generational trauma of losing your location successful L.A. has ne'er gone away.”

But not each Culture Clash joke aliases skit has been safe from criticism. Montoya still remembers really a blimpish pundit chastised nan group for utilizing ray joke to talk nan 1992 riots, erstwhile LAPD officers were acquitted for utilizing excessive unit successful nan apprehension and beating of Rodney King.

“By looking astatine it and treating it arsenic dynamite, exploding it and past by bringing immoderate levity and a full batch of seriousness to nan Rodney King matter allows america a moment, a fraction of clip to look astatine nan issues a small spot differently,” says Montoya. “That laughter allows america a infinitesimal to analyse it differently.”

On June 27, Culture Clash will return to Grand Performances, a free summertime performance bid astatine California Plaza successful downtown L.A., pinch comedic sketches colored by governmental and societal satire. The show, titled “American Payasos! Culture Clash’s End Times Cabaret” will beryllium co-presented pinch De Los.

While their 40-year-plus bequest mightiness merit a show reminiscent of aged goofball skits — for illustration their early 1989 show “The Mission” that poked nosy astatine nan problematic Spanish Franciscan missionary Junipero Serra — this will not beryllium an “oldies but goodies show,” arsenic Montoya put it. “We are highly pissed disconnected astir a batch of worldly correct now.”

“ We’re reasoning a batch astir nan Mexican American patriarchy, Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta and it’s clip to reside immoderate of these things,” says Montoya. “ We want to look astatine nan work workers of Los Angeles, nan group that waste fabric candy successful MacArthur Park, nan group that waste crystal pick successful Echo Park and nan group moving nan World Cup.”

For nan seasoned comic, boy of nan precocious Chicano writer Jose Montoya, it is besides intolerable to disregard nan immigration enforcement raids that person rattled Los Angeles communities successful caller years.

“This is simply a very unusual infinitesimal for satirists,” says Montoya. “We person a work to usage those devices to opportunity what’s going connected successful our metropolis and state and supply these moments wherever we tin do a small spot person introspection because nan group successful powerfulness aren’t telling america what’s going on.”

In nan past 5 years, Montoya has fiddled astir pinch integer media, creating sporadic videos featuring aged clips of nan troupe, arsenic good arsenic videos of Latino media, to link pinch technologically divers audiences of each ages. (One illustration is simply a video calling connected group to get retired nan vote, that features clips of Speedy Gonzales and honors governmental figures for illustration Huerta.)

Although Montoya believes Culture Clash is nearing nan extremity of its career, there’s a mobility lingering wrong his mind: What does a graceful exit look for illustration for a group for illustration Culture Clash, which has ne'er been afloat integrated into mainstream Hollywood and still near specified a profound bequest successful nan world of Latino entertainment?

The reply to that mightiness still beryllium unknown, but for illustration immoderate Culture Clash project, it will apt beryllium wickedly satirical and punchy. Says Montoya: “We’re fresh to spell retired pinch a huge, large bang that tin opportunity thing against nan powerfulness structure.”

Culture Clash will return halfway shape connected June 27 astatine Grand Performances, successful business pinch De Los. Also performing is nan retro cumbia-quebradita musician É Arenas (bassist of Chicano Batman), nan cumbia-fusion, luchador-masked cumbia group La Nueva Ola de Cumbia, arsenic good arsenic DJ Dali.